The Broken Girl
by TARDIS-set-adrift
Summary: The Doctor and Amy have already begun their adventures in the TARDIS. But before their next adventure can begin, the Doctor takes a detour to pick up another companion, the mysterious Aderyn. She means a lot to him and he has no idea why he is so drawn to her. And how is she connected to River Song? Part one of The Broken Girl series. WARNING: mentions self harm. COMPLETE.
1. Aderyn

**So the Doctor and Amy have already defeated Prisoner Zero, saved a Space Whale and Visited Churchill's bunker. But before their next adventure can begin, the Doctor takes a detour to pick up another companion, the mysterious Aderyn. She means a lot to him and he has no idea why he is so drawn to her. He makes it his mission to find out.**

 **And how is she connected with the enigmatic Doctor River Song?**

 **This is the first part of The Broken Girl series**

 **This will most likely turn out rather long so I apologise in advance.**

 **I DO NOT own Doctor Who or it's characters (though I would love to get my hands on River Song)**

* * *

The Doctor leapt around the console.

"So where to now?" he didn't wait for an answer. "the Delirium Achieves," he shouted excitably. "If you want to know about the world out there then there is no better place to go."

"what's the Delirium Archives?" Amy asked. She leant against the railing surrounding the console platform. She did enjoy watching the Doctor rush and twirl around the console like an excitable child.

"It doesn't sound as exciting as it is. It's the largest museum in the universe."

"A museum?"

"The best museum. But first," he dashed around the console, flicking switches and pulling levers "there's one person I need to see."

They landed. The Doctor checked the scanner before making for the door. There was too many occasions he had got the date wrong. He pushed open the door and stared out.

"She's not here." The Doctor sounded almost disappointed as he made his way back to the console.

"Who?" Amy said. She was able to keep the disappointment from her voice. She didn't much like the idea of meeting a female friend of the Doctor's.

"Aderyn. But I know where she'll be." He moved the TARDIS again. When he threw open the door this time, the noise of traffic poured into the TARDIS, accompanied by the harsh orange glare from street lights. Amy followed him out. They were in an alley. She looked around, looking back in time to see the Doctor disappear around the corner.

"Where are we?"

"We are in the UK. In the year 2010."

Amy broke into a brisk walk to catch up with him. Without warning he turned abruptly and entered a small cafe.

He found an empty table for them and signalled to the nearest waitress.

The waitress was young. Very young. Amy wouldn't be surprised if this was her first job, she couldn't be any older than 16 or 17, though she could have passed for younger.

"What can I get you today?" she smiled.

"Two generous slices of chocolate cake, one small coffee," The Doctor paused to let the waitress scribble down the order "and one extra large coffee with two extra shots."

The waitress frowned at her notepad as she finished writing the order "that's a lot of coffee. The extra large already has three shots. Are you sure?"

He leant slightly so he was close enough for him to whisper "trust me, I'm the Doctor." the waitress's pencil stopped moving. She looked up at him, an eyebrow arched. He leant back in the chair smiling. "I'll be right back with your order." she said before walking behind the counter.

"I take it that's her?" Amy whispered, leaning across the table. The Doctor nodded. "It looks like she didn't recognise you."

"I had a different face last time I saw her." he watched the waitress behind the counter, it looked like she was taking her time, constantly looking at her wrist watch. Another waitress approached her. They spoke for a few minutes. The first waitress took off her apron, collected the Doctor's order and walked towards them. As she approached Amy saw an extra mug on the tray she was carrying. She put the tray on their table before sliding into the seat opposite the Doctor, picking up the third mug. He smiled broadly at her. Once again she had a sceptical eyebrow raised. He took the psychic paper out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"It is you." she grinned.

"I'm afraid so."

"What happened to you? You've got floppy hair."

Amy cleared her throat subtly, before grabbing one of the pieces of cake off the tray.

"Amy Pond, this is Aderyn. Aderyn, this is Amy Pond."

"That's an unusual name." Amy commented as she shook Aderyn's hand.

"It's Welsh. It literally means 'bird'," Aderyn said. "You've changed you're face and travelling companion."

"Yeah but that's for another day. So I believe I promised you a quick trip if you passed your exams?" There was no let up in the Doctor's broad smile. He seemed genuinely happy to see Aderyn.

"Straight A's." Aderyn beamed.

"So how about it? I was going to take Amy to the Delirium Archives."

"Your timing is unusually excellent," Aderyn smiled. The Doctor frowned "I've finished my last shift here. Got nothing to do now."

* * *

Now with Aderyn in tow, they made their way back to the TARDIS, the Doctor constantly questioning Aderyn about how things had gone since he'd last seen her.

"Well I did pass all my exams but I've been kicked out. I think my parents, if you can call them that, planned I was gonna be out after school from the minute they got me. Took the job at the cafe in the hopes I'd be able to get enough money to make it on my own. It was a good job but the pay wasn't that great. Got enough saved to pay a deposit and first month rent though."

"That's awful." Amy said.

"It's not that bad. I'm gonna get out of this area, head down South. They've got good colleges."

"Don't worry about that for now," the Doctor said as they reached the alley where the TARDIS was concealed "tonight we'll just have fun."

In the light of the street lamps, Amy noticed that Aderyn looked tired and worn.

In the TARDIS the glow of the console did nothing to help Aderyn's haggard appearance.

"So the Delirium Archives," The Doctor said, bounding towards the console. He set their location and soon they heard the comforting noise of the TARDIS engines whirring into life.

"We'll be there in about an hour." he said, stepping back from the console and sitting on the steps leading to the TARDIS's many corridors. Aderyn sat on the floor leaning against the console. Behind her, Amy frowned at the Doctor, who shook his head just enough for her to see.

As the Doctor and Aderyn talked, Amy noticed Aderyn's voice becoming slower and sleepier. Amy moved round the console. Aderyn was falling asleep. When she finally fell asleep, led on her side, her back against the console, the Doctor removed his jacket and draped it over her. He motioned for Amy to follow him. He went over to the doors and pulled them open, sitting on the floor, his feet dangling off into space.

"I thought the TARDIS could go anywhere instantly?" Amy said, sitting next to him.

"It can," he said quietly "but this way she gets some sleep. She doesn't sleep much at home."

"She talks about her parents as if she hates them." Amy said.

"She does. But that's just because they hate her. They're not her real parents. She was adopted when she was two. I don't think her adopted parents ever wanted her." He heard Aderyn sigh and looked round to make sure she was still asleep.

"How did you meet her?"

"The TARDIS. She always takes me where I need to go. And she took me to Aderyn. Aderyn was surrounded by rather unsavoury people when I got there. Dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't shown up. The TARDIS always takes me to Aderyn whenever she needs someone."

"Those scars on her arms..." Amy started.

"She's been diagnosed with manic depression. Those scars are self inflicted. Some of them were intended to do more than just be scars." The Doctor said quietly. He looked out at the stars and constellations that spread out before them, lost in his thoughts.

"How old is she? she looks so young."

"I think she'd be 17 now. She's been through so much already."

Amy frowned "how old was she when you met her then?"

"12. She'd snuck away from home and ended up in a not so pleasant area."

Aderyn shifted in her sleep. The Doctor stood and walked over to her. Crouching next to her, he pulled his jacket up to her shoulder and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"We'll let her sleep a bit longer."


	2. Time Travel

Amy stayed sat by the door. She didn't know Aderyn but already she felt sorry for her. To have had that life at such a young age. Amy couldn't imagine what it must be like. When the Doctor woke Aderyn she'd been asleep for over an hour. The sleep had done wonders for her. Once she awoke she was bounding with energy and her eyes were bright.

"The Delirium Archives." The Doctor announced, noisily landing the TARDIS with a shudder. He rushed to the doors, throwing them open and striding out confidently.

Amy and Aderyn followed behind him as he went quickly from one display to the other.

"Wrong. Wrong. Bit right, mostly wrong. I love museums. " he was saying. Aderyn rolled her eyes at him as she strolled leisurely amongst the displays.

Amy caught up with him "Yeah, great. Can we go to a planet now? Big space ship? Churchill's bunker? You promised me a planet next. You've got a time machine. What do you need museums for? "

"This is the final resting place of the Headless Monks. It's teaming with history," he let out a triumphant shout as he ran to the next display case "one of mine. Also one of mine." he pointed at artefacts in the case.

Aderyn walked up to Amy "it's how he keeps score." She said quietly. They watched as the Doctor's attention was caught by a box in the case at the end of the row. Amy and Aderyn walked over to him, peering curiously into the case.

"Oh great, an old box." Amy said, shrugging.

"Home box?" Aderyn asked.

"A Home Box. Like a black box on a plane, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the flight data" the Doctor confirmed.

Amy looked down at the box. It was old and heavily graffitied.

"The writing, the graffiti. Old High Gallifreyan. The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple gods." the Doctor said mystically.

"So what does it say?" Aderyn asked.

The Doctor sighed "Hello darling."

The Doctor looked at Aderyn and gave him the most charming smile she could muster.

 _"_ Ok we'll see what this is about but she is not dragging me into anything this time."

Amy's confusion did nothing but grow. "What's going on?"

"When I say run, run back to the TARDIS as quick as you can."

With that he smashed the glass and scooped up the home box.

"RUN!" he shouted, grabbing Aderyn's hand and puling her along next to him.


	3. The Party's Over, Dr Song

An alarm pierced the silence of the museum and their footsteps pounded their course back to the TARDIS. Once safely inside the Doctor sent them back into the vortex.

He hurriedly connected the home box to the TARDIS scanner.

"Why are we doing this?" Amy asked.

"Because someone on a spaceship twelve thousand years ago is trying to attract our attention. Let's see if we can get the security playback working." he flicked switches and attached cables to the Home box. Soon enough the security playback was working. They watched as a woman in a black evening dress and dark glasses lowered her glasses and winked at the camera.

Aderyn smiled.

* * *

The woman was backed against an airlock, security officers and, who was undoubtedly the star liner's captain, were approaching her.

"The party's over Doctor Song. And yet you're still on board." The Captain was saying.

The woman removed her glasses " I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."

The Captain made to turn away from her "wait until she runs," he said to his guards "don't make it look like an execution."

The woman looked at the security camera "Triple seven five slash three four nine by ten. Zero twelve slash acorn." She winked at the camera again. The Doctor started to frantically input figures into the console.

"What was that? What did she say?" Amy asked.

"Coordinates." The Doctor said, hurrying back to the scanner.

The woman was looking at the Captain again "Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to."

The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS whirred "Aderyn, the door." But Aderyn was already there, pulling the doors open and standing to one side as a woman flew threw the doors. She landed clumsily by the doors but was soon upright, staring in horror at the retreating star liner. "Follow that ship." she said.


	4. You Promised A Planet

And follow the ship they did. It was a bumpy ride. Amy and Aderyn clung to whatever they could get their hands on to stay upright.

They watched as the Doctor and Dr Song clung to the console, both pressing buttons and pulling levers. Dr Song stayed close to the scanner, watching their progress along the ships course.

"They've gone into warp drive. We're loosing them. Stay close." she shouted.

"I'm trying." the Doctor shouted back.

"Use the stabilisers."

"There aren't any stabilisers." The Doctor huffed.

Dr Song rolled her eyes "The blue switches."

"The blues ones don't do anything. They're just blue."

"Yes they're blue," Dr Song shouted, catching Aderyn as she tried desperately to stay upright "look they're the blue stabilisers." she pushed the blue buttons on the console. The shuddering and rolling stopped. Amy cautiously let go of the rail she had been clinging to and Dr Song released her grip on Aderyn.

The Doctor glared at her "Yeah. Well, it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers. They're blue boring-ers."

"Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?" Amy asked, sidling up to him.

"You call that flying the TARDIS? Ha!"

"Don't strop, it doesn't suit you." Aderyn said, peering round Dr Song. The Doctor glared at her.

"Okay. I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and parked us right along side."

Dr Song stood back looking pleased with herself. Aderyn looked impressed.

"Parked us? We haven't landed," the Doctor huffed. Dr Song raised her eyebrows at him " But, it didn't make the noise."

"What noise?"

"you know.." he did a poor imitation of the wheezing noise he was used to the TARDIS making whenever he landed her.

"It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on." Dr Song collected her shoes from where she had hung them by the heels over the scanner.

"Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise. Come along, Pond. Let's have a look." he said pointedly.

"Environment checks." Dr Song said quickly, turning once again to the scanner.

The Doctor, having reached the door, opened it and stuck his head out.

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest that.." Dr Song started.

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft band, eleven hour day and chances of rain later." he cut her off. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"He thinks he's so impressive when he does that." Dr Song said, swanning towards the door.

" How come you can fly the Tardis?" Amy called after her.

"Oh I had lessons from the best," she said, turning back. She looked over at the Doctor who looked smug "Shame you were busy that day. Right then, why did they land here?"

The Doctor's smug smile didn't fade "they didn't land. You should have checked the Home Box. They crashed."

As soon as she had left the TARDIS the Doctor ran back to the console, preparing to leave.

Amy ran up to the Doctor "who is she and how did she do that museum thing?"

"It's a long story and I don't know most of it."

"Why are we leaving?"

"She's got where she wants to go, now we're going where we want to go."

"Wait is that a planet out there?"

The Doctor sighed, exasperated "yes it's a planet."

He looked up at Amy to see her staring at him "You promised me a planet." she said.

Aderyn walked over to them from the door, where she'd been watching Dr Song.

"We're not leaving yet." she said.

"Yes we are."

"Why?" Aderyn protested.

"Yeah why?"

"Don't you both start on me at once, that's not fair. Aderyn, you know she is part of your future and mine. It could be risky."

"Five minutes please?" Amy pleaded. "You Promised me a planet."

"And it's River Song. You can't drag me away just yet." Aderyn whined.

"OK five minutes. And Aderyn, I am not getting dragged into anything just because you fancy her." Both Aderyn and Amy grinned and ran for the door. The Doctor sighed and followed them. He just knew River Song was going to drag him into something.


	5. As Good As An Army

They had landed on a beach. In front of them was a huge temple, the once sleek star liner was nothing more than a burning wreck, jutting from the top of it.

"What caused it to crash?" Amy asked. Her and the Doctor had taken several steps backwards to take in the full view of the destruction before them. Aderyn was stood with River not far from them. They were both transfixed by the sight of the destroyed star liner.

"Not me." River said.

"Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors." The Doctor said. He put his hands in his pockets, waiting for the moment when River would find a way of dragging him into her mess.

River had a handheld scanner. She scanned the wreckage of the ship and the temple.

"A phase shift would have to be sabotage. I did warn them. Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries. "

"Warn them about what?" Aderyn stood on tip toes to see the readout from the scanner River held.

"Trouble." River replied.

"Well aren't you gonna introduce us?" Amy nudged the Doctor. He sighed. Introducing anyone to River Song would lead, sooner or later, to trouble.

"Amy Pond, Professor River Song."

"Ah, I'm going to be a Professor some day, am I? How exciting," River Song cast a glance at the Doctor over her shoulder "Spoilers."

"But how did she do that thing with the museum?" Amy asked.

"There's two things guaranteed to turn up at a museum: the home box of a category four star liner and, sooner or later, them." River called over her shoulder.

Aderyn walked over to the Doctor and Amy as River spoke quickly into her communicator.

"I am serious Addy, I am not getting dragged into any of her shenanigans this time." Aderyn raised her hands defensively.

* * *

Having finished her conversation, River sat down on a rock, complaining under her breath about how this terrain what not an appropriate location to be wearing such an expensive evening dress. The Doctor, Amy and Aderyn walked over to her. By the time they had reached her, River had taken a small blue diary out of her bag and was flicking through the pages.

"So where are we?" She said as they approached. Amy looked confused and the Doctor sighed. "Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"Not yet." Aderyn said.

"That's something for you to look forward to." River said.

"What's the book?" Amy moved towards River.

"Don't look at it." The Doctor said. Amy frowned. "It's her diary. Her past. Addy's future."

River closed the book. "He thinks he told you off earlier doesn't he?"

Aderyn nodded.

"OK I'm really confused now. What's with the book and what makes you think he told her off?"

Amy was starting to get a headache. This was just too confusing.

"The diary is my past. Which is Aderyn's future," River explained "Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order. And he only ever calls her Addy when he thinks he's been a bit harsh."

"So what's with the crashed star liner?" The Doctor said, hastily moving the conversation on. He shuffled impatiently and turned his back to them. River pick up her scanner again.

"You were wrong. There is one survivor," she said "There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die."

The Doctor spun quickly on the spot. "Now he's listening." she said to herself.

Before another word could be said four small tornadoes kicked up dust and sand and turned into four soldiers. River stood up and moved to greet them.

" You promised me an army, Doctor Song." Said the one in the lead.

" No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor."

The man stepped forward "Father Octavian, Sir. Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?" The Doctor saluted before shaking Father Octavian's hand.

"What do you know," River said, turning a sweet smile towards the Doctor "of the Weeping Angels?"

"Oh I knew you were going to be trouble." The Doctor said under his breath.


	6. The Angel

Night fell quickly as the drop ship was lowered to the planet's surface. A make shift camp was set up around it, flood lights illuminating the area.

Amy watched from a safe distance as soldiers busied themselves setting up the camp, occasionally stopping to question the Doctor. Aderyn stayed close to River and Amy wasn't sure whether that was entirely Aderyn's choice. When River got too far ahead of Aderyn, or Aderyn held back to look at something, River would catch her attention and wait for her to catch up. When she looked around again, the Doctor was deep in conversation with Father Octavian. The Doctor looked less than impressed.

Father Octavian had been told that this was the man they needed to stop the angel. But he didn't see how. This was just one man and the angel was deadly. Between the Doctor and his clerics they may stand a chance. But he didn't hold his breath.

"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship. Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to the scans, behind the cliff face there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

"Oh good." the Doctor muttered.

"Good, sir?" Father Octavian asked.

"Catacombs. Probably dark ones. Dark catacombs. Great." he grumbled.

Amy walked over to them in time to hear Father Octavian say "Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead."

The Doctor turned to him "You can stop any time you like."

A soldier called for Octavian and the Doctor welcomed the break from his, somewhat unsettling, talking. "Excuse me, sir." Octavian snapped a quick salute before walking away.

Amy sat on the table where the Doctor stood. "You're letting people call you sir. You never do that. So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

The Doctor looked up at her "You're still here. Which part of wait in the Tardis till I tell you it's safe was so confusing? It's bad enough Aderyn is insisting on following River around like a lost puppy. I don't want you in danger as well."

"Awwww someone's Mister Grumpy Face today." Amy teased.

The Doctor slammed the piece of, no doubt delicate, equipment he'd been studying back on to the table top before fixing her with a glare "A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and right now one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch, and assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

Amy looked over at Aderyn, who was still following River "is River Aderyn's mum?"

"What?"

"Well River keeps her close by all the time, I mean she doesn't let Aderyn out of her sight at all."

The Doctor sighed "yes, you're right. I am definitely Mister Grumpy Face today."

They looked round to see River emerging from the drop ship. She signalled for them to go over. She scanned the area before seeing Octavian. He had is back to her. "Father Octavian!" she shouted. He turned and raised his hand, acknowledging her shout.

"Why do they call him Father?" Amy asked, as they headed towards the drop ship.

"He's their Bishop, they're his Clerics. It's the fifty first Century. The Church has moved on." The Doctor explained.

* * *

In the drop ship, a grainy image flickered on a monitor on the far wall. The Doctor regarded it with distaste and hatred. The image showed a stone statute. The statue had fabulously detailed wings, which they had a perfect view of as it had their back towards them. It's hands covered its face.

"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face. " the Doctor stood close to the screen, closely observing the angel.

"But it's just a statue." Amy said.

"It's a statue when you look at it." River said. Aderyn took a step backwards. The sight of the Angel sent shivers down her spine.

"What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it? " Amy looked from River to the Doctor. She couldn't see why there was so much fuss over a stone statue.

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it." River shrugged.

"No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone," the Doctor traced the shape of the wings on the screen "The ultimate defence mechanism. Being a stone until you turn your back."

They turned as the door was pulled open and Aderyn fled from the drop ship.

"I'll go." River said, following her.

Aderyn stood as far away from the drop ship as she dared, shivering slightly.

"Are you ok?" River asked as she caught up with her. She put a comforting hand on Aderyn's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aderyn wrapped her arms around herself as another terrified shiver made its way down her spine. "it's just so creepy. Where I live there's a statue across the street. A statue that looks just like that one. A few weeks ago it had moved."


	7. Projection

As they made their way back to the drop ship, the Doctor walked to meet them.

"Are you ok?" he asked, regarding Aderyn with a look of fatherly concern.

"Yeah I'm fine." she lied. He looked up at River, who shook her head.

"I want you to go back to the drop ship and stay there with Amy, stay there till I call you."

When Aderyn was safely out of ear shot he rounded on River.

"What's wrong?"

"She's seen an Angel. She said that there was an angel across the street from where she lives. And it moved." River watched Aderyn walk towards the drop ship and then turn sharply away from it, finding a secluded spot to sit and watch the bustle of soldiers.

Aderyn watched the Doctor and River talking. She knew the expressions too well. River had brushed off her sighting of the stone angel but she wouldn't be talking to the Doctor about it if it was nothing to worry about. And she knew the Doctor wouldn't look so concerned if it truly was nothing to worry about.

River sighed as she looked over at Aderyn "she never does what you tell her to does she?"

The Doctor chuckled slightly "I don't think anyone I have ever travelled with has."

They were interrupted by Father Octavian."So what is the plan sir?" he asked.

"The hyperdrive would've split on impact. That whole ship's going to be flooded with drive burn radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms. Deadly to almost any living thing."

"Deadly to an Angel?"

"Dinner to an Angel," the Doctor said "The longer we leave it there, the stronger it will grow. Who built that temple? Are they still around?"

"The Aplans. Indigenous life form. They died out four hundred years ago," River informed him "Two hundred years later, the planet was terraformed. Currently there are six billion human colonists."

"You lot, you're everywhere. You're like rabbits," the Doctor turned to Aderyn who had walked over to them "I'll never get done saving you." he smiled at Aderyn, who attempted to smile back.

"Sir, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population" Father Octavian said.

"Oh, there is. Bad as it gets. Bishop, lock and load."

Father Octavian saluted before walking away "Doctor Song, with me." River turned to Aderyn before following "Come on sweetie." She held out her hand, Aderyn took it and followed River.

"Doctor, we need you as well." Father Octavian shouted over his shoulder.

The Doctor followed.

From the door of the drop ship Amy watched them walk passed. She shrugged before walking back in.

She looked up at the monitor as she entered. The angel was still there. But this time it's hands were no longer covering it's face. It was starting to look over it's shoulder.

Outside the drop ship, River handed a book to the Doctor, he flicked quickly through it's pages.

"I found this. Definitive work on the Angels. Well, the only one. Written by a madman. It's barely readable, but I've marked a few passages." River said.

"Doctor Song?"

River looked round to see Amy leaning out of the door of the drop ship.

"Did you have more than one clip of the angel?"

"No, just the four seconds." She replied.

Amy went back into the drop ship and looked again at the monitor. The Angel had moved again. This time it was staring straight ahead, straight out at her, it's arms lowered. Amy turned her attention to the time stamp. She watched as it reached the four second span, then looped back again. When she looked up at the screen again, the Angel was closer. The door closed and locked behind her.

* * *

The Doctor was still musing over the book. Aderyn had managed to grab it from his unresisting hands as he had waved it while he'd been talking. She flicked through the pages.

"The book is wrong. What's wrong with this book? It's wrong." The Doctor was saying.

* * *

Amy reached for the remote, trying to switch off the screen. it flicked back on instantly. She tried several times. Every time the screen instantly switched back on. She walked up to the monitor and yanked the cable beneath it. It didn't move. When she looked back up the angel was, once again, closer. The time stamp continued to loop through the same four seconds. Keeping the angel in sight, she backed towards the door. When it didn't open she looked round at it. She was locked in. When she looked back the Angel's mouth was open in a terrifying silent snarl.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

* * *

"Pictures," Aderyn said, handing the book back to the Doctor. "Why aren't there any pictures? the whole book is a warning about the Weeping Angels. So why no pictures? Why not show us what to look out for?"

"There was that bit about images." River said.

"Yes, hang on," The Doctor flipped quickly through the pages again "That which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an Angel." He slammed the book closed, once again lost in his own thoughts, muttering the line under his breath.

"What does that mean?" Aderyn asked.

* * *

Amy's fear reached it's peak when she once again took her eyes off the angel to try the door. When she looked back, the Angel was in the room.

* * *

The Doctor paced, muttering constantly. Then it hit him. He dropped the book back on the table and ran towards the drop ship.

"Aderyn stay here." River demanded before following the Doctor.

"Amy," he called through the door "Are you alright? What's happening in there?"

"Doctor, it's coming out of the television." Amy called through the door. The Doctor directed the sonic screwdriver at the door's keypad. But it wouldn't open.

"Deadlocked." he cursed.

"There is no deadlock." River said as she drew level.

"Well there is now." The Doctor retorted, trying to switch off the power from the outside.

"Doctor, the Angel is here." Amy said.

"Don't take your eyes off it. Keep looking. It can't move if you're looking. Don't blink, Amy. Don't even blink." The Doctor called. Amy heard his voice moving along the side of the ship,, as though the Doctor were running back and forth.

"Can you switch it off?" He shouted.

"I tried."

"Try again. But don't take your eyes off the Angel. Each time it moves, it will move faster. Don't even blink. "

"I'm not blinking, have you ever tried not blinking." She shouted, sounding angrier then she intended. She closed one eye at a time as she moved towards the remote. She hit the power button again. And again it switched on again instantaneously.

"It won't switch off."

"Yeah that's the Angel." The Doctor shouted as he ran back to collect the book.

"But it's just a recording." Amy shouted, not knowing the Doctor had walked away.

"No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel," River called "Just keep looking at it. Don't stop looking."

"But not the eyes, anywhere but the eyes." The Doctor shouted, he returned with the book in hand and a worried Aderyn not far behind him.

"Why not the eyes?" Aderyn asked.

"The eyes are not the windows of the soul. They are the doors. Beware what may enter there." The Doctor read.

"What did you say? What was the bit about images?" came Amy's shout.

River pushed the Doctor out of the way and called through the door "Whatever holds the image of an Angel, is an Angel."

Amy aimed the remote at the screen again and fixed on the time stamp. She watched the numbers flick passed "Hold this." she growled. And pressed the pause button as the blip on the tape signalled it returning to the beginning of the loop. The Angel froze. Then the monitor switched off. River, The Doctor and Aderyn burst through the door.

"Are you ok?" the Doctor ran up to her.

"Yeah I froze it. There was a sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an Angel any more. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good."

"That was amazing." Aderyn said. The doctor strode up to the monitor and yanked the cable out.

"River, hug Amy." he said.

"Why?" Amy asked, as River walked up to her.

"Because I'm busy."

"So it was here? That was the Angel?" Aderyn said, staying close to the door.

"That was a projection of the Angel. It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

The drop ship shuddered as an explosion tore through the quiet of the evening.


	8. It Begins

The explosion had been the clerics breaking through to the maze. The moment the Doctor dreaded was upon them. He prayed he would come up with a plan by the time they reached the wrecked star liner.

"Ok now it starts." he said, walking out of the drop ship.

* * *

The climb down to the entrance chamber was less than enjoyable. Aderyn felt like she was descending to Hell, the darkness beneath her was less than comforting. When she reached the bottom she jumped violently as a hand reached for her.

"It's just me." River said. River pulled her away from the ladder, keeping a firm grip on her arm. The light from the torches did nothing to ease her nerves. The light bounced off of the rock, casting frightening shadows across the walls. When they had all reached the entrance chamber, the Doctor requested a gravity globe.

"Where are we? What is this?" Amy asked, carefully feeling her way around the poorly lit chamber.

"An Aplan moratorium. Sometimes known as a maze of the dead." River said.

"But, if you happen to be a creature of living stone," The Doctor kicked the gravity globe high into the air "it's the perfect hiding place."

The gravity globe flooded the chamber with light. Mausoleums and statuary filled the chamber. Aderyn wished she had remained in the dark.

"A stone Angel on the loose amongst stone statues," she said under her breath " I guess this makes it a bit trickier."

"A needle in a haystack." River said.

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues," he turned to face River "No yours was better."

Father Octavian sprang into action "Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question. How do we fight it?"

"We find it," he looked round at Aderyn and Amy, thankful they were both more interested in casting scared glances around the entrance chamber "And hope."

He walked over to Amy and Aderyn. He wanted to convince them to go back to the TARDIS, go back to where they would be safe. The maze of the dead, when they were hunting a statue of unbelievable power, was not where he wanted either of them to be. Even with River keeping a close eye on Aderyn, this was no place for them.

As River moved to follow him, Father Octavian stopped her.

"They don't know yet, do they? Who and what you are?"

River shook her head "No, it's too early in their time stream."

"Well, make sure the Doctor doesn't work it out, or he's not going to help us."

"I won't let you down. Believe you me, I have no intention of going back to prison." River glared at him and walked over to the Doctor.

Father Octavian sent two clerics to inspect the only other exit.

* * *

They began the ascent up the terraces, the Doctor bounding ahead, Aderyn not far behind. He had been unsuccessful in convincing them to go back to the TARDIS. But he at least knew that Aderyn would stick close to either him or River. Truth be told he had been reluctant to have Aderyn leave his sight. She was so terrified that when he had suggested sending them back to the TARDIS, she had looked close to tears. His only real worry was that if he got himself into trouble, Amy and Aderyn would only have River Song to keep them safe. And he still didn't know whether he could trust her. He knew Aderyn had already met her a few times, and River had proved useful to have around. On one occasion, he had seen how far River would go to protect Aderyn. He highly doubted her actions at the library would have been quite so definite if Aderyn hadn't been there.

Before they reached the maze, they lingered in the entrance chamber just a bit longer. They had to be prepared.

Amy watched as River fussed around Aderyn. There had to be a strong connection between the two. River kept an constant watch over Aderyn, and was the first to look for her if she strayed too far. During their climb through the terrace, Amy was certain she had heard River trying to convince Aderyn to go back to the TARDIS. Aderyn, however, thought very much like she did, that the safest place was wherever the Doctor was.

When River approached her, Amy noticed that she had made sure Aderyn had reached the Doctor's side before taking her eyes off of her.

"So what's a maze of the dead?" Amy asked her.

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls," River paused, considering what she had said "Ok that was fairly bad." She took Amy's arm, rolled up her sleeve and quickly injected her before Amy could protest.

"It's a viro-stabiliser. Stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship." She said in response to Amy's questioning frown.

"So you know the Doctor and Aderyn in the future, what are they like?"

River looked over at them both. "Well Aderyn is..different. But not much. And the Doctor, well, he's the Doctor," she looked over at the Doctor again "and yes we are."

He was trying to make sense of the handheld scanner he had borrowed from River "Sorry, what?"

"Talking about you." River said.

"I wasn't listening, I'm busy."

"The other way up." River pointed out. He turned it the right way up, then without taking his eyes off the scanner, he reached out and grabbed the back of Aderyn's shirt as he walked along, pulling her with him.

"You're so related to them," Amy said. River raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're so his wife. Or at least Aderyn's mum. The way you talk to him, it's a bit like heel boy! And you never let Aderyn out of your sight. I've only ever seen a mother act that way towards someone before."

"Oh Amy do you really think it would ever be something that simple."

Amy smiled "Yep."

"You're good, you're wrong, but you're good." She picked up her bag and walked back over to the Doctor.

* * *

A burst of gunfire from the main chamber echoed throughout the terrace. They ran back to the main chamber. A cleric, scared by the idea of the Angels, had fired a round of shots at a damaged and worn statue.

Father Octavian rounded on him "We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?"

"No, sir." The cleric stammered.

"No, sir, it is not. According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil, so it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked, casually strolling up to the frightened cleric.

"Bob, sir." he replied.

The Doctor smiled a comforting smile " Ah, that's a great name. I love Bob."

"It's a sacred name. We all have Sacred Names. They're given to us in the service of the Church." Bob replied.

"Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh? Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron." he clapped Bob on the shoulder.

Father Octavian regarded the Doctor with disdain "Bob, stay here and guard the approach. We move into the maze in two minutes."

The maze stretched out before them. Leaning out over a wall and looking up, Aderyn could see the levels above them. The floor they were on had a multitude of statues, no doubt the floors above would be the same. They were looking for a statue in a maze of statues. This would be neither easy or fun.

As they began the climb, Aderyn prayed the Doctor would come up with a plan before they reach the ship.


	9. Guarding the Exit

Back in the entrance chamber, Bob was on edge. Christian and Angelo should be back by now. He was meant to catch up with the group as soon as they gave him the all clear. There couldn't really be any trouble. The Angel was in the wreckage.

He pressed the button on his communicator "Angelo! Christian! where are you?"

He waited. For a few minutes there was nothing. No sound but his own breathing and rapid heart beat.

And then "Bob, come and see this. Come and see what we've found."

"Angelo," he replied "Are you with Christian? The Bishop said you'd be five minutes."

"Come and see." Angelo said again. Bob sighed.

"Where are you?" he said

"Through the arch. Come and see."

Bob cautiously stepped through the arch. He knew there was another exit here, but he couldn't think what would be so important.

The last thing Bob heard was the sound of stone grating on stone.


	10. Two Heads Are Better Then One

The climb up the levels was long. The higher they got the more Aderyn wished she had gone back to the TARDIS. Something didn't feel right. But she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse? There's a whole ship up there." Amy asked.

"Incredible builders the Aplans. Had dinner with the Chief Architect once. Two heads are better then one."

"You helped him?" Aderyn asked.

"No I mean he had two heads. That book at the very end, what did it say?" The Doctor said. River shone her torch over Aderyn's shoulder.

Aderyn had kept the book close to hand. She now flipped it open.

"Read it to me."

"What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels." Aderyn read.

The Doctor stopped walking for a second. His own thoughts taking over once again.

"Let's move." He said eventually.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Amy asked "It's one hell of a climb."

"Only two levels to go." River said.

"Lovely species the Aplans. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head." The Doctor said cheerfully. He reached out and grabbed the back of Aderyn's shirt, pulling her back before she could get ahead of him.

They kept climbing. Something was bothering River. It was something the Doctor had mentioned that just didn't sit right. There was something wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Aderyn broke away from the Doctor and hung back to speak to River.

"something isn't right," She whispered "I don't know what it is."

"I know. There is something." River said. She put a comforting arm around Aderyn. She could feel Aderyn's heart beating quickly.

They had almost reached the top level when it happened, when they finally realised what was wrong.

Aderyn, having caught up with the Doctor, stopped in her tracks, the light from her torch landing on the head of one of the statues.

"Doctor!" She called.

"Come along Aderyn, lets not linger." The Doctor replied.

"But Doctor, something isn't right with this."

He walked back to her, looking up at the statue she was staring at with horror. "Oh." he said.

River and Amy walked over to them, the clerics stood around looking confused.

"Oh," River said "how could we not have noticed?"

"Low level perception filter. Or we're really thick," The Doctor shone his torch around the chamber before finding an alcove. "Everyone over there," he shouted, ushering Amy and Aderyn ahead of the clerics. Soon they were all back against the wall. The torch light fell on the statues.

"What's the problem?" Amy asked.

"The Aplans." The Doctor replied.

"The Aplans?" Father Octavian turned to him "But the Aplans are dead."

"The Aplans had two heads. So why don't the statues?" Came Aderyn's voice from somewhere behind River.

"Right everyone turn off your torches," the torches went out. The Doctor kept his focused on the statue Aderyn had been staring at. "I'm going to switch this one off too, just for a moment."

And he did. When he switched the torch on again the statue had turned to face them.

He ran back they way they had just come, looking out over a wall.

All of the statues they had passed had moved. They were coming towards them, arms outstretched.

"Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger. Every statue in this Maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us." The Doctor said, running back to the group.


	11. There's Always A Way Out

"There was only one Angel on the ship I swear." River said, looking round the chamber. Every statue was turned to face them.

"The Aplans, how did they die out?" The Doctor said.

"No one knows." Father Octavian replied.

"We know now."

"They don't look like Angels. And they're not fast. You said they were fast." Amy said, her panic rising.

"Look at them. They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving," The Doctor said, continuing to run around the chamber, inspecting the statues. "Loosing their image and their image is their power."

"You said the Angels would feed off of the radiation," Aderyn said, the light from her torch quivered as her hand shook "Could the crash have been a rescue mission?"

"We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up." The Doctor said, irritation and anger barely concealed in his voice.

"We need to get out of here fast." River said.

Father Octavian reached for his communicator "Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in please. Any of you." the communicator crackled.

"It's Bob, sir. Sorry sir."

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active, repeat all the statues are active."

"I know, sir," came the reply "Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."

The Doctor grabbed the communicator from Father Octavian, much to Octavian's annoyance "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?" The Doctor batted Father Octavian's hand away as he tried to grab the communicator back.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal."

"Good, scared keeps you fast. Your friends Bob, what did the Angels do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

Father Octavian took advantage of the Doctor's shock at the response and snatched back the communicator. "Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Oh, don't be an idiot. That's not how the Angels kill you. They displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something," the Doctor wrestled the communicator out of Father Octavian's grasp "Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't, sir. The Angel killed me too. Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

That had not been the response any of them expected. A terrified hush fell upon them and Father Octavian stopped trying to get possession of the communicator.

"If you're dead how can I be talking to you?" the Doctor said slowly.

"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

Amy and Aderyn exchanged looks of horror.

"It's the Angel that's on their way up to us then," Aderyn said. Amy frowned at her "It's simple. If the Angel is using Bob to talk then it's the Angel on his way to us not Bob. If Bob is dead then how can he be homing in on our signal."

"You're good." Was all Amy could say in response.

"No way out." The Angel said over the communicator.

"We get out through the wreckage. Go! Go, go, go. All of you run." Father Octavian said. There was a rush of movement as everyone scrambled towards the direction of the wrecked star liner.

Following slowly behind them, the Doctor still had the communicator.

"Angel Bob? Which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes sir."

That had been the answer he was looking for. He tucked the communicator into his pocket and sped along to catch up with the rest of the group.

He walked passed Amy, who seemed to be clinging desperately to a low wall.

"Don't wait for me. Go!" he urged.

"I can't." Amy said. He stopped and looked round at her.

"Why not?"

"My hand. It's stone. Look at it. It's stone."

The Doctor walked over to her and looked at her hand. It looked normal to him. He peered closely at her eyes. "You looked the Angel in the eyes didn't you?"

"I couldn't help it." She bit back.

"Listen to me. It's messing with your head. Your hand is not stone. You can move it, you can let go." he said. He kept shifting his gaze to the archway they had just come through. He knew the Angels were advancing. He knew they wouldn't be long.

"I can't okay? I've tried and I can't. It's stone."

"The Angel is going to come and it's going to turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it, so do it. Concentrate. Move your hand." He ignored Amy's protests.

"You've got to go. You've got to look after Aderyn. If you stay here you'll die and then who will keep Aderyn safe."

"Aderyn has River to keep her safe I'm not worried."

Amy looked him square in the face. She couldn't believe he was being so stupid "You've got to go. Those people up there will die without you. If you stay here with me, you'll have as good as killed them. Do you really think River is going to be able to keep Aderyn safe from the Angels?"

She turned to look at the archway and saw the Angels had advanced towards them.

"Amy Pond, you are magnificent. And I'm sorry." The Doctor said. He checked to see that Amy was still watching the Angels, before sinking his teeth into her hand.

She yelped.

"See not stone." He said grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him, keeping his eyes and torch trained on the approaching Angels.

"You bit me." Amy shouted at him.

"Yes and you're alive. Now run." He pushed her along, cast one last look at the Angels and then turned, following Amy's path.

* * *

The Byzantium loomed high above them. This felt too much like the end. They didn't have the climbing equipment to reach the wreckage 30 feet above them.

Aderyn was starting to get fed up with the panicked clerics. They kept pointing out the obvious. as if they had all missed the flickering lights and the Angels making there way down the corridors.

"The Angels are draining the power for themselves. Which means we can't stay here."

"Well we're not exactly equipped to reach the Byzantium, all we have are torches, guns that don't do anything against them and a madman with a sonic screwdriver. There's no way out." Aderyn snapped. The Doctor took little notice of her but River and Amy frowned at her.

River knew what Aderyn could be like when she got scared. Aderyn's first reaction to fear was anger. And anger from Aderyn could be dangerous.

"There's always a way out." The Doctor corrected.

"Doctor? Can I talk to the Doctor please?" came the voice of Angel Bob over the communicator.

The Doctor took it out of his pocket. He looked exasperated. "Hello, Angels. What's your problem?"

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end."

"And what's that?" The Doctor paced, looking for the way out. There's always a way out, he just needed to find it.

"I died in fear. You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down." The Doctor stopped pacing.

Aderyn sighed "Bad move." She muttered to herself.

"What are they doing?" Amy asked.

"They're trying to make him angry." River said.

"Bad move on their part. Though it may prove beneficial to us." Aderyn said.

The Doctor turned to face them. "The Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." he snapped into the communicator.

"But you're trapped sir, and about to die." The Angel said.

He had a way out "Yeah. I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake." he informed the Angel.

He turned to Amy, River and Aderyn.

"Trust me?" he asked them.

"Yes." Amy replied.

"Always." River said.

"My life in your hands Spaceman." Aderyn smiled weakly.

"Clerics, I can get us out of here but you need to trust me. So do you trust me?" The Doctor said. The clerics nodded mutely.

"We have faith." Father Octavian told him.

"Good, give me your gun. I'm going to do something really stupid and when I do, jump."

"Jump where?" Octavian asked, handing his gun over to the Doctor.

"Just jump up, high as you can. Come on Bishop, leap of faith. Same goes for all of you. On my signal, jump."

"Sorry you mentioned a mistake we made." Angel Bob enquired.

"Oh, big mistake. Huge. Didn't anyone every tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap," The Doctor pointed the gun straight up towards the hull of the Byzantium.

"What would that be sir?"

"Me." With that he pulled the trigger, shooting the gravity globe.

They jumped.


	12. The Byzantium

They struggled to their feet. The certainly weren't on stone anymore. The surface beneath them was artificial.

"Keep looking up." The Doctor ordered as he helped Amy to her feet.

They looked up. "Where are we?" Amy asked.

"Exactly where we were. We jumped up." River said. She pulled Aderyn to her feet.

The Doctor tried to work around Aderyn. But it was impossible. He'd already told her twice to move her feet. But she had been too concerned with looking up. He lifted her up and moved her an inch or so away from where she had originally been stood.

"What am I looking at?" Amy asked.

"We're exactly where we were. Well, near enough. The power is still on so that means the artificial gravity is as well. He shot out the grav globe to provide an up draft." Aderyn said. Amy still looked confused. Aderyn sighed "basically we're currently stood on the hull of the Byzantium. We're technically upside down right now."

"You know, every now and then you sound a lot like the Doctor."

"Occupational hazard," Aderyn responded "They're starting to look more like Angels now Doctor."

"They're feeding on the radiation," The Doctor, who had been crouched down, stood up abruptly as a light on the hull exploded "They're draining the power. Everybody in." He'd opened a hatch that lead to what looked like a corridor."

Amy peered through the hatch "How?"

"Look it's very simple, the artificial gravity will orientate to the floor. We'll be fine." The Doctor slid himself through the hatch, and landed neatly on the corridor floor. One by one the entered the ship. The clerics going through last so they could keep their eyes on the Angels. They closed the hatch behind them.

A door at the far end of the corridor slid shut before they could reach it.

"This whole place is a death trap." Father Octavian shouted.

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic," There was a loud bang from the closed hatch. "Ok just me then. What's behind this door?"

"Secondary flight deck." River said.

"What if the gravity fails?"

The Doctor turned to Amy. "You're so cheerful. Anyway I've thought of that. If the gravity fails we'll all plunge to our deaths. See I thought about it." He moved to the control panel next the to sealed bulkhead. "The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible."

"How impossible?" River asked him. The corridor had not been designed to accommodate so many people. It was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"Two minutes." The Doctor said, busying himself once again with the control panel.

There was another bang from the hatch. When they turned it was open. The could see an arm silhouetted against it. The lights flickered.

"The hull is breached." Father Octavian said. The clerics raised their firearms.

The lights flickered again, staying out for a second longer this time. When the lights came back on they were face to face with four Angles and the hatch was closed behind them.

"Okay I have an idea. I can override the security protocol by redirecting the power to this control panel."

"Good then do it." Father Octavian said.

"That includes the lights. All of them."

"Doctor you cannot be serious. We lost the torches, we'll be in total darkness." Aderyn snapped at him.

"Yes I am aware of that thank you." He responded quietly.

River put an arm around Aderyn, covering her mouth before she could snap back "how long for?" she asked.

Amy tried to stifle a smile at the distinctly unimpressed look on Aderyn's face.

"Fraction of a second. Maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer?" he shrugged.

Aderyn had managed to wriggle River's hand away from her mouth.

"Maybe? Only maybe?"

"We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship. There isn't a manual for this." The Doctor shouted at her.

Father Octavian turned to River. "Doctor Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust this man." River replied.

"He's not some kind of madman, then?"

River paused for a second before again saying "I absolutely trust this man."

"We've got your back Doctor." He turned to the clerics "Combat distance, ten feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste."

The Doctor turned to Aderyn and Amy "Aderyn you need to stay close to River. Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns."

"Ten." The Doctor and Aderyn exchanged confused glances "No, four." He said to her.

"Yeah four, I heard you."

The Doctor shrugged it off. He had more important things to worry about right now.

"Ready!" he said, plunging the sonic screwdriver into the control panel.

"On my count, then. God be with us all. Three, two, one, fire!" Father Octavian opened fire, the clerics following suit. The lights went out. The bulkhead opened just enough for them to squeeze through, Amy directing River to get Aderyn through first.

"Fall back." The Doctor shouted at the clerics over the sound of the rapid firing.

The Doctor was the last through the bulkhead, somehow navigating his way through backwards, not daring to let the Angels out of his sight.

It was a short run down a short corridor before they reached the secondary flight deck. The Doctor closed the door behind them and ran straight for the controls. There was a thumping on the door they had just closed. Then the wheel started turning. Moving quickly, Father Octavian placed a small device on the door. The wheel stopped turning.

"What did you just do?" Amy asked.

"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now."

Aderyn let out a burst of laughter "They broke through the hull. You really expect that to work?"

"Aderyn you really are a fast learner." The Doctor said to her.

"Well I have to be." she replied.

The wheel started to turn. Though this time it turned slowly.

"You've bought us time. Good. I am good with time." The Doctor said.

They became aware that there were other doors leading into the flight deck as, one by one, the wheels started to turn and the clerics ran to seal the doors.

"Doctor, we're surrounded. How long have we got." Father Octavian said. He was slowly starting to loose faith in this Doctor man. Every step they took with him seemed to lead them into a different sort of dead end.

"Five minutes max." The Doctor replied.

"Nine."

The Doctor turned to Amy "No five."

"Five. I said five."

"No you said nine." the Doctor said. He paused to look at her.

"We need another way out of here." River said, drawing his attention back to the situation at hand.

"This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So, what do they need?"

"Of course." River smiled.

"Of course what?" Aderyn said. She watched the Doctor curiously as he ran up to a wall.

"They need to breathe." River explained.

As they watched the Doctor released several clamps near the floor and the wall raised.

"But that's...I mean that is a.." Amy was too amazed to finish a sentence. She stared open mouthed.

"That's a forest." Aderyn said, articulating what Amy had failed to convey.

"Yeah it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory. Is there another way out through there?" River moved slowly towards the forest.

"Clerics, scan the architecture. We don't have time to get lost in there." Father Octavian strode forward, vanishing into the forest.

"Eight." Aderyn and River turned to look at Amy.

"What did you say?" Aderyn asked.

"I didn't say anything," Amy said. "But trees on a spaceship?" she said to the Doctor.

He walked into the forest " Oh, more than trees. Way better than trees. You're going to love this. Treeborgs. Trees plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"

"Seven." Amy laughed.

"You said seven." The Doctor said walking towards her.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did." River said. She watched Amy carefully.

"Doctor," Father Octavian called from the forest "there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

"Then that's where we're going." The communicator in the Doctor's pocket crackled into life.

"Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."

The Doctor threw himself into the chair by the control panel.

"Ah Angel Bob, how's life? oops. bad subject."

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world. and all the stars and worlds beyond."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"

"We have no need of comfy chairs sir." Angel Bob replied.

The Doctor smiled. "I made him say comfy chairs."

"Six."

The Doctor leapt to his feet "Okay Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy?"

"There's something in her eye sir." Came the reply.

"What's in her eye?"

"We are."

The Doctor walked over to her and stared closely at her.

"What's he on about?" she panicked "I'm five. I mean five. I mean I'm fine." She stammered.

"You're counting." Aderyn informed her.

"No I'm not."

"You are and you have been for a couple of minutes." River said.

"We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space." Angel Bob said.

"Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."

"With respect, sir," the Angel said "There is more power on this ship then you yet understand."

There was a screeching noise that seemed to surround them.

"Dear God what the hell was that?" Aderyn snapped as soon as she was able to take her hands away from her ears.

"It's hard to put into your terms, miss," the Angel explained "but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed yet."

"Noticed what?" The Doctor asked himself. Aderyn, who had been facing away from the forest tapped him gently on the shoulder then pointed "I think it may be that."

The Doctor turned. A long W shaped crack had appeared above the bulkhead. It was widening.

"That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl." Amy said, her fear rising.

The Doctor pushed a stack of boxes towards it and climbed up to it.

"Two points in space and time that should never have touched." he said under his breath.

"We're moving out." Father Octavian demanded.

"Yeah, fine." The Doctor murmured, scanning the crack with the screwdriver.

"We're not leaving without you." Amy said.

"Yes you are. River?" He didn't need to say anymore.

River picked up Aderyn, throwing her over her shoulder. She slipped her other arm around Amy's waist, lifting her off the floor and carrying them both towards the forest. When they had reached the forest she put them both down and dragged them along beside her.

The Doctor looked at the readout from the scan "Oh that is not good," he said to himself "that's extremely very not good." He turned to follow the others to find himself surrounded by Angels.

"Do. Not. Blink." He leapt of the boxes, weaving quickly between the statues. As he reached the edge of them, a hand grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Why am I not dead?" he said to them. He looked round to see them reaching towards the crack in the wall.

"Good and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure Time Energy. You can't feed on that. That's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else," he wriggled free from his jacket. "Never let me talk." He called back to the Angels as he retreated into the forest.

* * *

Amy stopped walking. She swayed on the spot before sitting on a moss covered log. River crouched in front of her. "Amy what's wrong?"

Amy lead down "Four."

"Med scanner now," A cleric handed her one. River attached it to Amy's arm. The readouts where less then comforting. Aderyn looked over River's shoulder "That's extremely not very good." She said.


	13. Mental Angel

Father Octavian approached them "Doctor Song, we can't stay here."

"We wait for the Doctor." River told him.

Father Octavian sighed angrily "Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved..." he started.

Aderyn leapt quickly to her feet. She stood on the log so she was level with his face "Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself for leaving his side. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"You really need to breathe more when you're shouting at people." The Doctor said as he strode confidently towards them.

"I hate you." Aderyn said to him.

"You don't," The Doctor drew level with her and looked into her eyes "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." She shrugged.

The Doctor smiled at her "Liar."

Aderyn smiled at him "I'm terrified."

"Good, shows you're alive. The Angels are in the forest, we need to move soon."

"How did you get passed them?" Amy asked.

"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe."

"What was it?"

"The end of the universe. But more importantly what's going on here then?" he took the med scanner from River and looked down at the readings.

"What's wrong with me?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, you're fine." River said quickly.

"Everything, you're dying." The Doctor said.

"Compassionate as always Doctor." Aderyn said to him.

"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her, she'll get all better. Right. Amy, Amy, Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?" he stood and started pacing.

"Come on, come on, come on. Wakey, wakey. She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and, and..." he continued, his pacing becoming more frantic.

"Whatever holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel." Aderyn said quietly.

"Yes you're right. A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind." They stared in horror at the Doctor.

"Three. Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die."

"Please just shut up. I'm thinking." The Doctor resumed pacing.

"You remember that compassion thing we talked about." Aderyn muttered.

The Doctor ignored her.

"Stop winding him up." River demanded. Aderyn fell silent, her arms crossed.

"What's wrong with her?" Amy asked.

"It's not her we need to worry about." River said soothingly.

"Please tell me. Distract me from his pacing."

River sighed "When Aderyn gets scared she gets angry. And that's rarely a good thing."

"You were the one that said don't get scared get angry." Aderyn said, crounching next to Amy.

River turned to her "You have no idea how much I'll regret that."

"Doctor you really need to think a bit quicker." Aderyn knew she was really starting to irritate him. But she didn't care.

"If it was a real screen, what would we do? We'd pull the plug. We'd kill the power. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would just take over."

"Doctor she's got seconds." River said, looking down at the med scanner again.

"IF you wanted to starve your lungs how would you do it?" he asked.

"I'd stop breathing." River said.

"Amy, close your eyes."

Amy shook her head weakly "No I don't want to."

"That's the Angel. It's scared. But you need to close your eyes."

Amy screwed her eyes shut tightly. The readings on the med scanner changed and River breathed a sigh of relief. "You did it."


	14. I'll Do A Thing!

They managed to get Amy to sit up. But she was still too weak to move.

"Can I open my eyes now?" she asked, blindly looking round.

"Amy, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes." The Doctor said kindly.

"We're too exposed here. We need to move." Aderyn said. Some of her anger had abated, but it had been replaced with a nervous energy. She constantly moved around, constantly looked round the forest.

"We're too exposed everywhere. And Amy can't move. And anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" Aderyn said sarcastically. Once again the Doctor ignored her pointed tone, giving onlookers the impression that he was used to this.

"I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics, you're going to stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible, twice. River, you and me and Aderyn, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is," he paused, held up a finger, then pointed "A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Amy."

"How?" River asked. As much as she respected the Doctor, this was one of those few moments when she was getting annoyed with him. This was clearly very early in his regeneration. He was like a hyperactive child.

"I'll do a thing." he said.

"Great, we get a thing. Care to be more specific?" Aderyn crossed her arms, uncrossed them, then started to pace back and forth.

"I don't know. It's a thing in progress. Respect the thing," he stopped moving around long enough to square up to Aderyn "And that is more than enough attitude from you young lady."

Aderyn stopped pacing, put her hands in her pockets and sheepishly looked at her feet.

"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My Clerics'll look after Miss Pond. These are my best men. They'd lay down their lives in her protection." Father Octavian said defiantly.

"I don't need you." The Doctor replied. Father Octavian caught sight of Aderyn over the Doctor's shoulder. He got the distinct feeling that she was biting back a comment.

"I don't care. Where Doctor Song goes, I go."

"Are you two engaged or something?"

"In a manner of speaking." Father Octavian was not going to bend on this one.

Aderyn couldn't keep her mouth closed any longer "Why don't you two move this arguement to the Primary Flight Deck and I'll stay here with Amy."

"No!" River and the Doctor shouted in unison.

"Aderyn you are coming. If this really gets us moving then Father Octavian is coming as well. We don't have time for you two to stand here and argue." River said. She stood up, looking from one to the other.

"How can she get away with it?" Aderyn stropped, sitting on the log next to Amy.

"Fine, fine," the Doctor said, resigned to the situation "but Aderyn you are coming."

"I'll be fine here."

The Doctor completely ignored her "Amy You'll be safer here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can, I promise."

"You always say that." Amy said sadly.

"And I always come back. Good luck, everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later. River, I'm going to need your computer and bring Aderyn." He stomped off through the trees.

"Come on Aderyn." When Aderyn didn't move River walked over to her and lifted her off the log she was sat on. Amy could hear Aderyn protest at being carried around like a child. From the distance she heard the Doctor shout "Well if you did what you were told you wouldn't be treated like a child. Now hurry up."

* * *

Amy felt a hand close over her own, which were clasped in her lap.

"Amy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important." It was the Doctor. His voice sounded so mournful that it sent a shiver down her spine.

"But you don't always tell me the truth."

He put his hand on her cheek.

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working on it," he rested his forehead against hers "Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?" Tears formed behind her closed eyelids. His voice was so sad, so tired that she could swear she could feel his sadness.

"No, that's not the point. You have to remember." he kissed her forehead. Then as quick as he had been there, he was gone. She reached out a hand but couldn't feel him there.


	15. A Curtain Of Energy

The Doctor caught up with Father Octavian, River and Aderyn. River had put Aderyn down now. Aderyn kept throwing glances over her shoulder "Are you sure she'll be ok?" She asked the Doctor.

"She'll be fine," he said "I know you'd rather be there but I am not willing to leave you behind as well Addy." He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a brief, awkward one armed hug as they walked.

It never failed to amaze River how fatherly he was toward Aderyn.

Aderyn knew she had been difficult and more than a little harsh towards him. She was already regretting it. She knew she didn't cope well with fear. And every day she seemed to find another thing to be scared of.

The Doctor busied himself with River's mini-computer, inputting the data from the crack in the wall.

"So how can a crack in the wall be the end of the universe?" Aderyn asked.

"I'm not sure. If I can find out when the crack started I may be able to do something about it. One day there's going to be a very big bang. So big every moment in history, past and future, will crack."

"How is that even possible?" River asked.

"How can you be engaged in a manner of speak?" The Doctor asked quietly.

Father Octavian stopped walking and turned towards the Doctor, he looked quickly at Aderyn to make sure she was out of earshot. He could see that Aderyn adored River, this was not something she should hear.

"Doctor Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she's accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."

Before the Doctor could respond, the computer chirped. He looked down at it.

"What is it?" River asked, glad to move the conversation on.

"The date of the explosion, where the crack begins," the date read 26.06.2010 "Amy's time." he said under his breath.

* * *

Amy was getting fed up with keeping her eyes closed. She hated not knowing what was going on. The clerics weren't much help either. They talked amongst themselves and told her very little of what was happening.

"The Angels are still grouping. Are you getting this too?" One of them said. She believed it was Marco.

"The trees." Phillip replied to him.

The lights flickered. When they came back on they could see the Angels reaching inside the trees, pulling the cables.

"What's wrong with the trees?" Amy asked.

"The Angels are taking out the trees." Philip said.

"Here too, sir." Pedro said.

"What's happening?" Amy snapped.

"They're taking out the lights. The trees are going out." Marco said to her.

* * *

Father Octavian and The Doctor found a hatch.

"It's a maintenance hatch," Father Octavian told them "It leads right into the primary flight deck. I'll get it open, you three keep an eye on the forest."

Aderyn kept close to River, scanning the forest, looking for the tiniest hint of movement. "We've got to be quicker then this," Aderyn said to the Doctor "time is running out."

The Doctor turned to face her "But what if time could run out?"

"Doctor, We're in." Father Octavian said.

* * *

Amy sighed. She was starting to feel very cross. She didn't want to be sat here. She would rather have gone with the Doctor. Or at least have had Aderyn stay with her. Though part of her was glad Aderyn had gone. She really didn't seem to cope well with fear. And the Weeping Angels appeared to terrify her. But she would have had some decent company if Aderyn was with her. Aderyn would have told her what was going on. She had gleaned nothing from listening to the clerics, and they seemed reluctant to tell her anything. She'd resorted to threatening to open her eyes. But all they told her was that the Angels were still there and were advancing.

A sudden silence from the clerics worried her.

"Is the ship on fire?" Marco asked eventually.

"Can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it," Pedro said "This side is clear. The Angels have gone."

"Same here." Phillip said.

"What's going on? Where are the Angels?" Amy asked. She turned her head blindly.

"It's like the Angels are running," Marco told her "Crispin, Phillip, you need to get a closer look at that."

"Closer look at what?" Amy demanded, her irritation rising.

"It's like a curtain of energy. Makes you feel weird looking at it." Marco said. She heard two of the clerics walk passed her.


	16. You Can't Trust Her

Amy stood up "point me at the light." She said.

"What are you doing?" She felt movement next to her as Marco moved to stand next to her. "You can't open you eyes."

"I can't open them for more then a second, that's what the Doctor said. I still have a bit of countdown left." she shrugged.

"Ok but very quickly." Marco sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her so she was facing the light. "You can open your eyes."

She opened her eyes and felt a tight knot in her stomach. "That's the crack in my wall. It's the same shape." A long W shaped beam of light was flooding the forest. It was exactly the same shape as the crack in her wall, the same shape as the crack in the flight deck.

"Close your eyes," She didn't "Now!" Marco demanded. She ignored him.

"It's following me. How can it be following me?" She said, as Marco pulled her back into a seated position and put his hand over her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but it was the same shape as the crack in my wall." she shivered.

"I'm going to check it out." Pedro said behind her.

"Why don't you just wait until Crispin and Phillip get back?" she frowned. She felt Pedro walk passed her.

"Crispin and who?"

"Crispin and Phillip. You sent them to have a closer look at it. Why not just wait until they get back?" Amy said.

"I'm sorry ma'am, there was no Crispin or Phillip on this mission."

* * *

"The hatch is open," Father Octavian said "Dr Song, Aderyn, get through."

The Doctor had his back to them. He was mumbling continuously under his breath.

"Doctor!" Aderyn said. He looked round at her.

"Cracks. Cracks in time. Time running out. No, couldn't be. Couldn't be. But how is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognise the Daleks. Okay, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten." He said.

"What are you talking about?" Aderyn asked.

"Time can be unwritten." The Doctor said to her.

Father Octavian pulled on the back of Aderyn's jacket "Get through, now." He said to her.

"Doctor, we need to move." River said.

"Yeah I'll be there in a second. Go, both of you."

Aderyn and River disappeared into the hatch.

"Doctor, you as well," Father Octavian said. "The Angels could be here any second."

The Doctor laughed "there's worse things here then the Angels."

The lights flickered, then went out. The lights were out for a split second, but a split second was all that was needed.

"I beg to differ, sir."

The Doctor looked round at Father Octavian. There was an Angel stood behind him, with a stone arm around his neck.

"Let him go." The Doctor demanded.

"It can't let me go while you're looking." Father Octavian pointed out.

"But if I look away it will kill you."

"It will kill me anyway. You have to go, sir. You have to leave me."

* * *

"Before you sent Pedro, you sent Crispin and Phillip." Amy said desperately.

"Who's Pedro? There has only ever been me and you here," Marco stood up "I need to get a closer look at that thing. Stay here and don't open your eyes." He said to her.

"Please don't go. There was five of us and you sent Crispin, Phillip and Pedro to get a look at that light and now you can't remember them."

"I can assure you there has only ever been me and you. Here," he reached for her had and put a small device into it "It's the spare communicator," he told her "I'll keep in contact the whole time. I won't get too close. I just need to see what it is."

He ignored her protests and walked towards the light.

* * *

Father Octavian could see why Aderyn had become frustrated with the Doctor, he just wouldn't listen to sense "I'm dead no matter what, there's nothing you can do to save me. But you can still save the others. You have to go."

"You'll die." the Doctor said.

"Yes, yes I'm dead but before you go, listen to me. You can't trust her."

"Trust who?"

"River Song. You think you know her but you don't. You don't know who and what she is. She was in the Stormcage for killing a man. A good man, a hero to many. You need to know that because you need to protect Aderyn. She adores Dr Song, that much is obvious. You need to keep Aderyn safe from her."

"Who did she kill?" the Doctor asked. As much as he wanted to look Father Octavian in the face to try and gage whether he was telling the truth, it was too risky to look away from the Angel, even for a second.

"You really don't want to know sir. I've already told you more than I should have. Just leave me now and keep the others safe."

"You'll die." The Doctor said again.

"I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that I thank God, and bless the path that takes you to safety." Father Octavian said.

"I'm sorry Father, I wish I had know you better." The Doctor held out a hand.

"I think sir," Father Octavian replied, shaking his hand "You've known me at my best. Now go."

The Doctor dived through the open hatch and closed it behind him. As the hatch closed he heard the sound of bones breaking.


	17. You Can Handle This, You're Scottish

When the Doctor looked round the flight deck he saw Aderyn and River working at a console.

"There's a teleport. If I can get it to work we can get the others here. Where's Octavian?"

"He's dead," the Doctor said solemnly. He walked over to the teleport and gave it a quick glance. "So is that teleport. River, I need to use your communicator."

River handed it to him.

"Please tell me you have a plan." Aderyn said.

"Um, yes I have a sort of plan. But we need to get the others here." he said.

"I can go and get them." Aderyn said. She knew neither the Doctor or River would allow her to do that, but she desperately wanted to make sure Amy was ok.

"Addy, you know I'm not going to let you do that. But trust me on this, I have a plan."

* * *

Amy held the communicator tightly "Hello? Hello are you there?" she said.

"Yes I'm here," Marco replied "I'm quite close now."

"Then please come back." Amy begged.

"It's weird looking at it," Marco said "It feels really." he stopped talking.

"Really what?" Amy said, her panic and fear rising. There was no response "Hello? Please say you're there. Hello?"

For a second there was no reply. Then,

"Hello? Amy is that you?"

She sighed with relief "Doctor, the clerics have gone. They walked into a light and they didn't even remember each other."

"No they wouldn't. That light is time running out. I'm sorry Amy, I made a mistake. I should never have left you. You need to come to us."

"But I can't see. I cant open my eyes." She said.

"Turn on the spot, when the communicator sounds like my screwdriver it means you're facing the right way. There's time energy spilling out into the ship and you need to stay ahead of it."

Amy stood and turned on the spot. When she heard the familiar buzz of the screwdriver she stopped.

"But the Angels?" she said.

"The Angels can only kill you. If the time energy catches up with you, you will never have been born Every moment of your life and your existence will be erased. You would never have lived at all. You need to stay ahead of it."

* * *

"Now keep your eyes shut and start moving." The Doctor said.

Aderyn and River could see the worry etched into his face.

"Will this work?" Aderyn said, she stayed close to the hatch, ready to jump out and find Amy.

"If you have a better idea I would love to hear it." The Doctor said quietly. He held up the communicator again, directing the sonic screwdriver at it before speaking into it "Listen, Amy I'm sending a proximity sensor to your communicator. It'll beep if something is in your way. Just move until the beeping stops. Because, and this is very important, the forest is full of Angels and you need to walk like you can see. If they think you can see them then their instincts will kick in."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Just keep moving." The Doctor lowered the communicator again.

"What's the time energy going to do?" Aderyn asked.

"Keep eating."

"How do we stop it?"

"Feed it."

"Feed it what?"

"A big, complicated space time event should shut it up for a while." The Doctor started to pace.

"Like what, for instance?" River looked up from the teleport she was working on.

"Like me for instance." The Doctor snapped at her.

Aderyn walked over to River "I can get this teleport working again, but it would have a very short range. Amy needs to be closer." River whispered to her.

* * *

The communicator in her hand beeped and whirred. She stopped walking. Amy took a deep breath "What's that?" she said.

"It's a warning. It means there are Angels around you. But listen to me, this is going to be hard but I know you can do it. The Angels are scared And running, and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see." Amy didn't move. Fear had seized her and she couldn't bring herself to move.

"You're not moving." Came the Doctor's voice from the communicator.

* * *

The Doctor paced furiously, he had to get Amy moving. He knew she was scared and he knew he was asking for the impossible, but she needed to move.

"You have to do this." He shouted into the communicator. Amy still didn't move.

Aderyn walked behind the Doctor, slapped the back of his head and took the communicator from him.

"Amy?" she said "Amy, you don't have that far to go now. Just a few feet."

"What are you talking about? She's not that close." The Doctor snapped in a harsh whisper.

"You have to move, sweetie. I'd be doing the same as you right now but you have to do what the Doctor says."

"I'm scared." Amy wasn't sure she'd have admitted it to the Doctor, but Aderyn had the same motherly tone as River, and that's what she needed right now.

"You're not the only one," Aderyn said "And you wouldn't believe the amount of times I have been saved by listening to the Doctor. So listen to what he's told you. Keep moving. I promise you it's not far now."

Amy started to take tentative steps forward.

"You can handle this, you're Scottish." Aderyn said.

Amy laughed. Her relief was short lived when she caught her foot on a tree root. She hit the floor with surprising force and dropped the communicator.

* * *

Aderyn gave the communicator back to the Doctor, before walking back over to River. "Nicely done." River said to her.

* * *

Amy scrabbled on the floor, desperately trying to find the communicator again. But no matter where she put her hands, she couldn't feel it. She could feel movement around her and could hear the sound of stone grating on stone. She knew she was completely surrounded by Angels now. She carefully and quickly got to her feet, trying to orientate herself. Hoping she was still facing the right way, she took a step forward. And someone caught her.


	18. River Song, I could Kiss You

River grabbed Amy as she materialised on the Flight Deck.

"It's ok, I've got you." She said to her.

"You ok?" Aderyn asked her, running over to her.

"I'm fine." Amy said weakly.

"I told you I could get it working." River said smugly.

"River Song I could kiss you," the Doctor said happily. "Maybe I'll get Aderyn to do that."

"Maybe when she's older." River said, winking at Aderyn.

An alarm blared around the Flight Deck.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"The Angels are draining the last of the power. Which means the shield is going to release."

As he spoke, the bulkhead raised. They could just about see the forest behind the array of Angels stood facing them.

"Angel Bob, I presume?" The Doctor said. He strode forwards toward the, stopping just before the now open bulkhead.

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved." The Angel said.

"Why would I do that?" The Doctor asked.

"Because you're friends will also be saved."

"Yeah, well there is that." The Doctor said casually.

"You're not the only complicated space time event here." River said to him.

"Oh, be serious. Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you, and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip." He said to her. Aderyn frowned at him.

"Don't be stupid." She said to him.

The Doctor rolled his eyes "No, I mean it. River, Amy, Aderyn, get a grip."

"Oh you genius." River muttered. Aderyn, still stood by Amy, grabbed Amy's hands and wrapped them round the handles of the console module "Hold on," she said to her "And don't let go for anything." She grabbed the console, close to where Amy was, and waited.

"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship. Every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels," he backed away from them, grabbing the console. A monitor nearby flashed a warning. The gravity was failing. "Night, night." The warning changed. Gravity failed. They clung to the console as the ship tilted. The Angels began to fall backwards into the time energy.

Aderyn noticed Amy's hand slipping and put her own hand over it, keeping Amy's hand in place. She didn't think she had the strength to hold both of them up.


	19. Can We Really Trust You River Song?

The climb out of the Byzantium was long. And painful. Aderyn lost count of the amount of times she stubbed her toe and banged her head. Amy was reluctant to open her eyes, but with the Doctor leading the way and River's help, they got her out with minimal bruising.

They sat on the beach, looking up at the temple.

"I kept saying. The Angels all fell into the Time Field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now." The Doctor told Amy as she once again complained about climbing out with her eyes closed.

"Then why do I remember it at all? Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."

"You're a time traveller now, Amy. It changes the way you see the universe, forever. Good, isn't it?" he sat next to her "and the crack is gone for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening. Somewhere out there, somewhere in time."

They both looked over at Aderyn, who was stood chatting to River. They seemed to be having a minor disagreement. The Doctor and Amy walked over to them. River was now in handcuffs.

"I'm serious, eat an apple. It'll make you feel better." River was saying.

"I don't like apples." Aderyn pouted.

River took an apple and a flip knife from her pocket. After a few moments she handed the apple to Aderyn. There was now a face caved into the skin. The cuffs River wore beeped.

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see." She said. She watched Aderyn take a reluctant bite of the apple. "Eat it all. You'll feel better." Aderyn pulled a face.

"You'll see me again very soon when the Pandorica opens." she said to the Doctor.

"The Pandorica is just a fairy tale." The Doctor laughed.

"Aren't we all Doctor?" She chuckled. She turned to Aderyn and said "keep your chin up, the hell you're going through will be worth it one day I promise."

"What do you mean?" Aderyn said through a mouthful of apple.

"Spoilers." River replied with a smile. The cuffs let out another beep "That's my ride."

"Goodbye River."

"See you Amy."

"Can we really trust you River Song?" the Doctor asked, frowning at the archaeologist.

"If you like," she shrugged "but where's the fun in that." In a swirl of dust and sand she was gone.

"Come on you two," he put a hand on Amy and Aderyn's shoulder "Let's get you sorted."

* * *

The TARDIS materialised in Aderyn's bedroom. They all stepped out. The room was dark. Aderyn switched on the light. Her room was small but pages from notebooks littered every available surface and a small blue diary, similar to River's lay on the desk.

"Sorry about the mess." Aderyn mumbled as she strode across the room, picking a doll off the floor as she went. She considered it for a moment before chucking it onto the bed.

Amy lifted open the front cover of the diary. There was a small bird drawn on the inside cover with an intricate pattern of circles beneath it.

"So you have one diary and River has the other?" Amy asked.

Aderyn nodded "We keep meeting in the wrong order. It's the easiest way to keep tabs."

The Doctor peered out of the window. There was a statue opposite the house. It was a statue of an Angel. The statue had it's hands covering it's face. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" The Doctor asked. He looked away from the statue for a second. When he looked back it was still there. He sighed with relief.

"No I have stuff I need to do."

"We should get going. Your parents are in and I don't want to get you in trouble," The Doctor turned from the window. "Come along Pond." he said to Amy. Amy gave Aderyn a quick hug before heading back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor lingered for a second "If you need me, Little Bird, I will be here." He said.

"I know." Aderyn said.

She watched as he walked into the TARDIS and it vanished.

She got up to close the curtains. She looked across the street. She couldn't see what the Doctor had found so interesting about an empty plinth. There hadn't been a statue there for a few weeks.


End file.
